Page 11      Making Loops in Jewelry Wire Jewelry Making Technique

Step 11:  When you have completed your wrap, you will need to cut the excess wire.  Do this with your flush cutter, holding the flat side of your cutter toward the finished piece as shown at right. 

Step 12:  When you have cut the excess wire, you will have a very small wire tail that will stick out at the cut end of the wire.  If done correctly it will only protrude about 1mm, but even this small amount is too much so we need to squeeze and twist this wire tail flat.  This is done by holding your loop in your bent chain nose or fine chain nose pliers as shown and using a second pair of chain nose or flat nose pliers squeezing and slightly twisting so that the small wire tail will lay flat and not protrude.  When done correctly, the small wire tail will disappear as shown at right. 

This completes your wrapped loop.  These same steps will apply if you are using this loop to connect a bead dangle and head pin in earrings and/or necklace, or if you are making a wrapped loop as a component in a chain.  If more detailed instructions would help you to better understand this skill, we suggest purchase of our "Wire Design Basics" online book.  You can find this book in our online store here. 

These instructions continue on the next page with a discussion of how to make a figure 8 connector.